Denture



April 24, 1945. s Q A DA1-.M 2,374,422

DENTURE Filed May 31, 1943 IN V EN TOR.

Patented Apr. 24, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Sven Gustav AdollElaitllockholm, Sweden `Ampliacion.May 31, 1943;, serial No. 489.179 Y I In SwedenMay 18,;1942

6 Claims.

The present` invention relates to animprovement in dental prostheses or dentures of the kind which are intended to be used in such cases, in particular, `when a personl has Vlost all orxa con siderable number of his teeth in his upper: jaw or in his under jaw, and which consists `of abody of synthetic resin, rubber, or other suitable material, `having ashape corresponding to the shape of the jaw, and to which body the artificial teeth are secured.` The purpose of the invention` is to providea denture of 'this type which shall be more securely held to: the jaw than what is possible to obtain with the aid of the mouth plates hitherto usually employed. With this purpose. in `View the invention is mainly `characterized by the saidbody being provided on the face thereof oppositeto the teeth with an approximately ball-shaped or knoblike projection or button, or preferably with a plurality of such projections, which are intended'to engage thetic resin, rubber, or any othersuitable mate.- rial, is, provided on the face opposite to the teeth y may be hollow, and `each projectionl may be 2c recesses of a corresponding shape formed inthe gum tissue of the jaw by surgical incisions therein.

These surgical incisions may be Very simple and may consist, for instance, of cuts in the form of a cross for each projection `on thebody of the denture. ,Theprojections are then forced into these cuts, in which they are allowed to'remain while the cuts healup. It has been found that during I the healing of the cuts, which as a rule is completed after. eight or ten days, the gum tissue forms a ball-shaped pocket or socket of a shape corresponding to the projection. In this Way the denture gets a good hold in the jaw. f

The present improvement may also be used, if desired, in combination with a mouth plate of the ordinary type.

The accompanying drawing illustrates by way of example a denture made in accordance with the presentinvention. Fig. l shows a side View of a portion ofthe denture, and Fig. 2 shows the same portion "viewed from above. Fig. 3 shows to a larger scale a longitudinal section `through a portion of the denture with some of the projections thereon. Figs. 4 and 5 show-to a still larger scale a side view anda top plan View, re-

spectively, of a modified construction of aprojection or button according to the invention.

Fig. 6 shows somewhat diagrammatically a frontal section of the upper jaw and' of a denture attached thereto.l I

Referring to Figs. l to 3 of the drawing, l denotes a portion of the body of the denture, the

shape of which corresponds to the shape of the jaw, and to which the articial teeth 2 are secured. Ihe body I which may be made of synpressed from a piece of sheet metal. for instance of stainless steel, `in such manner that each pro-` jection is'connected through a narrower neck with two tongues 4 which are moulded into the`body l in the manner illustrated in Fig.' 3, so that in this way the projection is securely held in the body I. By making each projection 3 with its two associate tonguesf4 as a separate part in' this manner, the advantage is attained that when making the denture `thedistancesI between the projections may easily be varied to suit the `shape and size ofr the denture and other circumstances in each particular case.` I

In the modified construction illustrated in Figs.` 4. and 5 the projection or button I`3 comprises a head |34 whichis supported by a neck I5 from a base plate I6 to which a piece of wire netting l1 is secured in any suitable manner, as by welding at I8. In this instance the head f4 of the button is provided with a plane annular surface I5 on hold of the projection or button in the pocket formed in the gum tissue. The upper side of the head I4 is provided with a plane surface 20 the extension or diameter of which is approximately equal to the diameter of the neck I5 and thus of the inner diameter of the portion of the recess in the gum tissue which corresponds to the` neck. The circumferential surface of the head 1I4 has a Well-rounded profile, as illustrated in Fig. 4. It has been found that the head I4 may suitably have an outside diameter of 2.5 mm. and a height of 1.0 to 1.1 mm., and that thediameter of the neck l5 should be approximately 1.0 mm., While the height of the button from the upper surface of the base plate I6 to the upper surface oi the head I4 should be approximately 2.4 mm. The

base plate I6 should preferably have a diameter somewhat larger than the outside diameter of v The button I3 is preferably made of a noncorrosive material, such as stainless steel.

When the denture has been completed, it is pressed with the projections 3 or I3, against the jaw with such force that each projection produces a slight mark in the javv. At each such mark an incision, for instance in the shape of a cross, is then made in the gum tissue to a depth of from 2.4 to 3.3 mm.` corresponding to the height of the projections 3 or I3, respectively, after which the projections are forced into these incisions. patient must then wear the denture in this man- .ner while the incisions are allowed to heal, Which as a rule requires a time of eight to ten days. It has been ascertained by experiments that the gum While healing forms around each projection 3 or I3 a pocket of a shape corresponding to that of the projection, and grips around the projections j with such force that the denture is securely held to the jaw, but may be removed without difficulty, for instance when the denture need be cleaned.

Fig. 6 shows a frontal section of the upper jaw and of aA denture having retention means according to the invention attached thereto. In this gure the retention buttons I 3 are of the kind j above described in connection with Figs. 4 and 5, andthe base platesof said buttons are moulded into the body portion 2| of the denture to which the artificial teeth 2 are secured. The heads and neck portions of the buttons I3 are shown inserted into the abovementioned pockets in the gums 22. The superior maxillary bone is referenced 23.

The constructional form above described and illustrated in the drawing is only to be regarded as an example, and it may, of course, be modified with regard to its details in several Ways without departing from the principle of the invention.

I claim:

1. A denture, comprising in combination a body portion having one side shaped to t the shape of thejaw, artificial teeth secured to said body portion on the opposite side thereof, and at least one substantially ball-shaped or knoblike projection on said rstmentioned` side of said body, said projection being adapted to engage a recess of a corresponding shape formed by a surgical incision in the gum tissue of the jaw, for inthis manner to securely hold the denture to the jaw.

2. A denture, comprising in combination a body portion made of moulded material and having one Thev ing from said body and a base portion moulded into said body, said projection being intended to engage a recess of a corresponding shape formed by a surgical incision in the gum tissue of the jaw, for in this manner to securely hold the `denture to the jaw.

3. A denture as claimed in claim 2, wherein the base portion of the projection consists of tongues attached to the neck of the projection and `moulded into the body portion of the denture.

4. A fastening for dentures, comprising a base plate, a neck projecting from said base plate, and a head supported on said neck, said base plate being adapted to be secured to the body of a denture, and said head and neck being intended to engage a recess of a corresponding shape formed by a surgical incision in the `gum tissue of the jaw, for in this manner to securely hold the denture to the jaw.

5. A fastening for dentures, comprising a base plate, a neck projecting from said base plate, and a head supported on said neck, said head having an annular plane 'surface facing the base plate, said base plate being adapted to be secured to the body of a denture, and said head and neck beingintended to engage a recess of a corresponding shape formed by a surgical incision in the gum tissue of the jaw, for in this manner to securely hold the denture to the jaw.

6. A fastening for dentures, comprising a base plate, a wire netting secured to the under side of said base plate, a neck projecting from the upper side of said base plate, a head supported on said neck and having an annular plane lower surface facing said base plate, a partially plane upper surface and a rounded circumference, said base plate and wire netting being adapted to be moulded into the body of the denture, and said head and neck being intended to engage a recess of a corresponding shape formed by a surgical incision in the lgum tissue of the jaw, for in this manner to securely hold the denture to the jaw.

SVEN GUSTAV ADOLF DAHL. 

